Some Things Are Just the Way They Are
by Lara.Croft's.Bloody.Rose
Summary: Lara Croft, a beautiful aristocrat, finds out that life is unfortunate and scary, and there is nothing on the earth to change anything. Lara learns that everything happens and you just have to deal with it. She must protect her twin girls at all costs...
1. A fear upon fear

The fresh smell of October scented in the air of England

Larson was impatiently roaming around Lara's oversized room; waiting for something he feared the most.

He had just married Lara several months earlier, on June 22nd, 1991.

Lara had been in the bathroom for 2 hours! What was taking her so long?!

He walked over to the bathroom door and put his ear to the scruffy wooden door, hearing if anything was going on.

Nothing was happening in there; otherwise he would have heard it.

Impatient and worried, Larson opened the door to see Lara sitting on the lid of the toilet, staring at her pregnancy tester.

Not a glance was granted from Lara. She was astonished by what she was realizing; a cold bitter result, she was pregnant.

"Honey…" he asked, looking around in the bathroom, seeing multiple pregnancy tests scattered in the large and quiet bathroom.

"All the tests I took…and all of them have the same result…" she informed, her voice low and overly shocked.

"What is the result?"

"You can't tell?"

"You're…pregnant…?" he murmured, seeing her discontentment.

"Larson…I'm not ready to be a mother…"

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know…I don't know about anything anymore…"

Larson let out a faint sigh, he knew that she was scared and confused, even he was, but not as much as Lara. Her silky honeydew coloured hair fell over her face, her skin looked pale with fear, and her face looked as if she was at a loss. She knew that it was her fault for not being protected in the first place.

Why…why was this happening…? Why didn't she use her head? She knew one thing for sure, she was not about to get an abortion. The agony would be too much, and she knew that even getting shot three times in the stomach wouldn't hurt as much as an abortion. She didn't want a baby, but she didn't want to get an abortion. What else could she feel but confusion?

This was the biggest thing that had ever happened to her…and the most terrifying.


	2. The Argument

It was truly a long day that day

Lara was too depressed to even make an effort for anything. All she did was lay on her bed and stare at the ceiling the whole day.

Larson was walking around the front room and whistling, trying to think of a reason to go up and talk to Lara. He knew that she was scared, terrified, and she didn't want to see anyone.

Letting out a large sigh, Larson slowly stalked up to their room and quietly opened the over-sized brown door.

Lara looked over to him, frowning and getting uncomfortable.

"Listen…Lara everything will be fine…"

"And how do you know that? Have you ever found out that you were pregnant before?"

"No but-"

"Okay then. You don't."

"Listen there is no reason to get salty. I am just trying to help comfort you…"

"It's not working Larson! Nothing will help comfort me!"

"Then if you don't want the baby, get an abortion! Instead of being a sourpuss, do something about it!"

"You don't get it do you?!"

"Er…"

"Do you realize the kind of pain getting an abortion is like?!"

"N-n-no…"

"No! No! No you don't! Exactly! So don't go saying that crap to me because you don't even know what it is like getting one!"

"Oh and like you do?"

"No I don't, but I know people who got them! One of them died getting one! I don't know what it is like, but I don't want to find out either!"

"Well then stop complaining and being a psychopath about it and deal with it!"

"I can't! Dont' you understand?!"

"I would if you'd just tell me!"

"I've been trying to tell you!"

"Oh really? Because it seems to me that you are doing more yelling than telling me."

"Whatever. I'm not going to fight with you."

"Well if you don't want to fight with me, then why did you start the fight in the first place?!"

"Because you were talking crap, that's why."

"Crap?! I was trying to comfort you!"

Lara got up and walked out of the room, walking away from the fight. She was in no mood to fight.


	3. Walking Away

"Yeah, walk away. That's real mature Lara!" he shouted, his adrenaline high and getting worse by the second.

"I am being mature, Larson, because I am walking away instead of fist fighting you and cussing you out. Lord knows who would win and who would get even angrier." she shouted from the hallway.

"Go to hell!" he shouted, sprinting over to the door to see where she was, toying with the thought of smacking her when she didn't expect it.

"I vacation there!" she complied, stopping in her tracks.

She turned around, only to find Larson behind her, his hand raised and getting ready to smack her.

"Don't you dare!" she sternly scorned, venom in her demand. She looked him in his greyish eyes and tried to manipulate him. "In case you forgot, this is MY manor, I support us, I let YOU live here, I'm carrying YOUR baby, and I can just as easily kick you out!" she continued, the venom in her voice getting more extreme.

He gave her a look of complete disgust and put his hand down, his anger turning into fury.

"Now either calm down or get out." she demanded scornfully and squinted her eyes with anger.

She turned her back to him and walked off.

He walked back into their room and slammed the door, hard enough that it almost made the door split in half. He walked into the bathroom and went to the sink.

'Enough Larson…pull yourself together…just…let it go…it is nothing to go psycho over…and she is right…she DOES do a lot for us…and if it wasn't for her…I'd still be scrapping up money to pay the bills…' he thought, turning on the water and splashing cold water on his face. 'I just hope she doesn't hold a grudge on me for too long…but knowing her…it might last forever…'

Lara was in the gym, where she usually went when she was angry or frustrated. She pressed a blue circular button on the far left side of the gym. Two green punching bags escalated from the mahogany floor. She ran to them and jumped up, successfully kicking one of them and landing on the floor, immediately letting out a massive blow to the other punching bag using her fist.


	4. Rationalized

Larson walked out of the bathroom and went to the nearest phone, calling Lara's cell.

Lara looked at the caller ID and rolled her eyes in disgust. She was in no mood at all to hear anything from him, especially if it was to scold her with more crap.

She threw her cell against a wall and kept to her business.

Larson, being in a lingering mood swing, inhaled his bitter feelings towards Lara and tried to keep himself together, something he was lacking earlier.

After all, it was only fair that he treated her right. She was scared crapless earlier when she found out she was pregnant, with his kid no less, then she had to put up with Larson arguing with her.

Lara stopped kicking the hell out of the punching bag and walked over to the completely demolished phone.

"When will my life ever be normal…" she pondered and fell to her knees. "First I lose my mother…then I lose my father…and then I meet Larson…who was so perfect at the time…but now…I don't know…it's like after we got married…he changed…he's not that kind man I once knew…he's this…monster now…"

"Is that how you feel about me?" Larson barged, leaning onto the large brown column before the gym.

She turned around promptly and saw Larson with his head hanging low with disappointment. "How long have you been here?!"

"Doesn't matter. I heard what you said."

"Larson you know you can't just barge in and expect me to answer questions from statements I made which you weren't suppose to hear."

"Lara if they weren't meant for me to hear, then why did you say it all out loud?"

"Because I shouldn't have to keep everything inside."

"Pha! You do it all the time! Who are you kidding Lara?!"

"What, so I should always have to keep everything inside of me, even when I'm in my own home? That's not fair Larson and it's certainly not right."

"I never said you can't say things out loud, but when you know that the person you are talking about is in the same area-"

"Larson that is ridiculous! You make it seem that I knew you were here the whole time and I said it on purpose to 'hurt you'!"

"It could very well be true. I don't know. Odds of you telling the truth to me are one-out-of-a-thousand."

"Oh yeah, Larson! I'd really do that. 'Cause I'm such a crazy bi-" She paused. "You know what…I don't want to start this again. If you came here just to kvetch about my actions, then leave because I am in no shape or form to deal with your can of worms right now."

And on that note, she walked away from him yet again.


	5. Dissension

Her old butler, Winston, saw her swiftly moving to the kitchen, and old as he was, he had enough speed to see her lovely, aristocratic, high-cheek boned face had a tear dangling from her red puffy eyes, begging to be free. No, she needed to be strong. She needed to stifle back that prison break tear. "Lady Conway are you all right?" Winston checked, he realized how pathetically patronizing his voice sounded.

Lara frowned; she was naturally a strong, independent woman who wouldn't take crap from anyone. Ever since she had met Larson, she became weaker than normal. Something about him made her knees want to collapse underneath her. She melted into his arms and didn't know why. Why had he made such a strong impact on her? No one could change her in the ways he did. It spooked her, but yet she, being Lara, put those fears in the back of her head to isolate it. But had it really gotten to be a fear? Had it really bugged her that much?

"Winston, please tell my husband that I won't be joining him for dinner tonight." She stopped at the oak door farthest from her faithful butler. "I'll be going out, and I don't know when I'll be back. So please make sure my spot it empty tonight."

"Where are you going, Lady Conway?" he asked, his usually dull and lifeless voice now sparked with an anticipation that startled her.

"Nowhere worth mentioning. It's just…I'm going to a bar." She sighed heavily, and then noticed Winston was heading over to her with the speed of a teenage boy.

"Lady Conway you are not going to be drinking tonight!" he insisted.

Her forehead furrowed as she gave him a dark glare. "You're not my father Winston! I can and will be going to a bar tonight!" she demanded.

"Not with that baby in your stomach you're not!" he growled.

Her eyes opened wide with shock, "How did you bloody find out Winston?"

"Believe it or not, Lady Conway, but I clean your room daily. I saw the positive pregnancy tests. Now I said no drinking. You're going to get cleaned up, get into a nice summer's evening dress, and you're going to eat a nice dinner with your husband!"

"Winston…" she breathed in the burst of emotion that was deathly close to washing out of her, "Larson is…we're having…problems…currently and I don't want to be around him right now."

"Get past it. No wedding is perfect and neither is the relationship. Just because you two cannot pull it together over whatever the problem is, doesn't mean avoid one another. If that was the case for all other spouses, they'd all have a home per person. It makes no sense to avoid what can easily be fixed."

"But he's trying to hit me Winston!" she blurted out what she tried her hardest to bite back, and then mentally slapped herself silly.

"Is he now? How long has it been? Has he hurt you?" Winston was appalled by what he had heard. Appalled by how immature Larson was being, according to Lara.

"This past couple weeks have been tough…he's changed…I don't get it…" she sobbed, then realized, by the hand that rested on her bony shoulder and the perturbed expression on the old man's wrinkly face, that Larson had somehow snuck up behind her and heard her last comment. She shuddered.

"You've been trying my patients Lara. Everything makes you unhappy and well…" Larson whispered, his warm breath made her almost faint. His index finger ran down her neck and down to her fingertips.

"I know I've been acting differently…but I can't help that. It's the pregnancy Larson, it must be!"

"Well I must say, I don't like it. You're unhappy, and that makes me unhappy. You never even want to have pleasure at night anymore."

Her face tightened, "Is that all you ever want? Sex? Just because I don't want to please you at night means you should try and hit me?!"

"Well it'd be nice to have it once in a while!" he yelled, his eyes thinned, his jaw clenched, his body tall and straight as if to prove that he was bigger and stronger than she.

"We have it twice a week and you're complaining!? What just because it's not every freaking night it's not good enough?! Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah we have it twice a week but you don't even seem into it like you used to!" he protested against her raised voice.

"You're freaking unbelievable Larson! Just because it's not your vision, it's not good enough? Maybe we should just stop permanently if it's so bad!" she snickered with her hands raised in the air. "It's virtually impossible to please you, even outside of bed! Because that's all you ever talk about Larson! All you want is sex! You never want to play a game unless it has to do with screwing me! You never talk to me unless it's about sensuality! It's tiring and makes me want to never ever talk to you again. If I do try and talk to you about something, you roll your eyes and act bored, like you don't care what's going on in your wife's life!"

"What man wants to hear about tea parties and Tupperware? It's boring as hell! And when you talk, you're so beautiful!" he yelled, a snicker present only once in a great while.

"Oh for God's Sake, Larson! Stop using your penis as a brain for once! Just once in your dirty life!" she hollered, her weakness growing in her weary eyes. She was tired, tired of people starting crap with her, tired of living her married life with a sore loser, tired of being disappointed.

"Dirty life?" he laughed, "Dirty life!" he started to scream in anger, "Don't ever say I have a dirty life! You're such a slut, that your life is way dirtier than mine could ever hope to be!"

Winston watched in a frightened awe as the two newlyweds started going at each other's throats. He knew not to get in the middle of it, or else he'd pray he'd live another minute.


	6. Out of Grief Comes Love

She looked in the mirror closely and sighed. It wasn't long ago that they once got along, but Larson just clicked something into his brain, something horrible. The bruise on her eye was ever so dark and was easily seen. The gape on her mouth gave her a deeper frown. _He took it too far…_she cried out in her head. She stepped back and got a full look of her body. Bruises and scars covered her arms and legs. _Why did I let him do this? Why am I still here, taking everything?_

Her past remained crystal clear.

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He grabbed her by the hair and smashed her face into a doorknob. "Who the hell are you trying to kid, Lara? You can't hurt me!" he yelled fiercely and tossed her to the ground. Then he gave a swift kick to her stomach and kept kicking her.

"Larson get a grip over you!" she managed to blurt out, but that only fuelled his anger further.

"Get a grip? Get a grip?!" he hollered, dragging her off the ground and throwing her like a rag doll. She groaned in pain and shielded her abdomen. "Get up!" he walked up to her and yanked her up again by the hair. He kicked her down and hovered over her, smashing his iron knuckles into her face. She continued to shield her stomach and forced herself to endure the pain as best as she could. Strangling her by the neck, Larson tried to pry her arms open, but she wouldn't budge. Nor would she even if she had no air left, she would never allow Larson to hurt her baby. Her face turned purple, her eyes and nose bleeding fiercely, her body turning pale. He lifted her up and smashed her into the long mirror, making it shatter and her fall. She groaned in pain and cried tears of blood.

"Larson…stop…you…you don't…need…t-to…do…this…" she stuttered as she put her hand on his arm to calm him down. Her valiant efforts weren't good enough.

"I think I do. Insolent women like you need to learn who their masters are." He growled and picked up a shard of broken glass. This was it…this was the end for her. Lara Croft would die right there, in her bedroom, lying in a pool of blood, murdered by her husband. Or so she thought.

He sliced her mouth open, making a massive gash. Blood spilled out rapidly. Her vision swam. The rest remained a mystery.

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A tear spilled from her eye.

Her eyes were constantly glancing at her rather large stomach. She definitely was pregnant. The earth seemed so small all of a sudden. No, not the earth…her. She rested her hand on her stomach and felt the baby kick. By feeling that, her world seemed okay. She knew that at least something loved her, that wouldn't abandon her. She smiled, despite her misery. "Hey baby…good morning. Did you sleep well? I did…" she talked to the baby as per usual.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Larson growled and rolled over in the bed to see what, and where, she was. She never answered him, but kept talking to the baby. Finally, quickly agitated, he got up and stomped over to her, took her neck into his furious hands, and started to choke her. "ANSWER ME!!!" She didn't answer again, so he snickered and threw her to the floor. "You'd rather be beaten than do this the easy way? Do you enjoy when I'm angry?!"

"I'm talking to the baby, Larson, who the hell else would I be talking to?" she replied calmly and tried to pull herself up using a doorknob.

"Don't give me attitude woman! I own you! Obey me!" he clenched his fists.

"Attitudes are for children. And men like y-" The doorbell rang, and she was relieved. She waddled over to the door and opened it, only to find Anaya with a knife. "Oh God…Anaya put it away!"

"I knew it! Where's that Godforsaken MF at?!" Anaya spat and gave Lara a glare as if to say 'Do it now or I'll do it myself'.

"Anaya please go…"

"Tell me Lara! Do it or so help me God, I will move you aside and kill the bastard on my own!"

"Lara you invited one of your friends?" Larson asked gently as he stood behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist, squeezing tightly.

"Uhm…errr…" Lara almost fainted, and in fact, that was a quite intriguing idea.

"Back away Larson." Anaya hissed and grabbed Lara's arm gently, pulling her away from Larson's steel grip. "We're going to the mall, Lara."

"To hell you are!" Larson shouted and pulled Lara back into his masculine arms. Lara trembled and even started to cry. She was a broken spirit, a broken spirit who was due any week.

Anaya raised her knife to Larson and threatened him. "Release her."

He smirked and pushed Lara to the ground. Then he turned on his heel, kicked her, and walked into the Manor. "Anaya I can't do this anymore!" Lara cried as Anaya gently helped her up, and then embraced her in a hug.

Lara was crying out in pain, when suddenly Anaya screamed with excitement. "Lara! Oh my God you did it!!!" She hugged Lara softly and kissed her sweaty cheek. "You're a mommy now!" And on that note, Anaya looked over to the tiny newborn baby and started to sob happily. But was it really all happiness? There was a half-hearted feeling about the baby. She loved it because it was Lara's, but depressed that it was Larson's.

The nurses immediately started to try and make the baby breathe, since it wasn't. And within a couple minutes, Lara gazed at the baby with a smile no person could ever achieve. A tear fell from her eyes, then a whole fountain rushed out from both eyes. The baby wailed and screamed for its first time as it took its first breath. But it wasn't long after that Lara felt another contraction. "Ooooh God!" Lara cried out.

"Holy crap another one?!" Larson gasped. He held Lara's hand and reassured her that everything would be just fine. The doctor rushed to her and checked the machine. Sure enough, another baby was on the way.

"Okay, same drill. Four sets of pushes. You'll do fine." The doctor said soothingly, though it didn't help Lara to the slightest.

"I'll do fine?! I'm delivering a hippo for Christ's sake!" she yelled out in frustration.

"Honey, you're going to make it. Just squeeze my hand however hard you need to take some of the pain off. I love you." Larson smiled at her. Not the evil smile she had known for most of their miserable marriage, but the kind smile she had once known. She had her doubts, but maybe Larson was really changing.

Within minutes, both babies were brought into the world. They were two, beautiful baby girls. Lara sat up on her hospital bed and watched both babies get cleaned up and ready for people to touch them. She had tears dripping from her eyes, happy ones, as she watched the two babies that were once inside of her, experience the world a little more each minute. Larson kissed Lara's cheek and rubbed her gently. "You did great Lara."

She was sweaty still, but no one cared. She made a joke in her head and laughed silently. _Should have taken that numbing crap they recommended._ The nurse looked at Lara's eager expression and picked the older baby up, then brought it to Lara. "Thank you."

"Congratulations." The nurse said sweetly.

Lara held the little baby in her arms and felt something inside, something strange. A bond formed; a bond stronger than ever before. This was _**her**_ baby. She softly stroked the baby girl's chubby cheeks and scanned her over. "She has your nose. And your ears…" she looked down, "and your feet." she joked.

"She has your lips and hair colour. And your cheeks." He smiled warmly at his new daughter. "She's beautiful like her mother too." He kissed Lara's lips and moved her long dark brown hair out of her face and rested his head against hers. "You look beautiful with your hair down." He commented kindly and stroked her hand.

She blushed and moved his hand to the baby's face. It was soft and pinkish. Her eyes still weren't open yet. The nurse approached Larson, holding the second baby girl. He took her carefully, thanked the nurse, and he felt a sudden bond too. The girls were definitely identical twins, with the exception that the younger twin had Larson's lips.

"So what should we name them?" Lara asked and smiled uncontrollably.

"Chelsea…" he pointed to the younger one.

"And Annelei." Lara finished. All of a sudden, Chelsea opened her eyes for the first time ever to reveal her dazzling hazel blue eyes that Larson owned. Annelei followed minutes later to show her chestnut brown eyes like Lara had.

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_**Thanks to**_

**Inmate**_**1099: Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it. Sorry it took so long :(**_

_**By the way...Annelei is (Anna + Lee) but it's spelled kinda wierd but I didn't know how to spell it so oh wellzzz!!!  
**_


	7. One Thing After Another

Larson was about to lose his marbles. Annelei was wailing and he didn't know what was wrong with her. "Come on! What's wrong with you?!" he yelped, his head aching as if someone was bashing his head into a symbol and the noise crushing his eardrums. The phone rang and he gently set the baby down and rushed to the phone. "Hello? Larson Conway speaking."

"Larson? Is that how you always answer the phone?" Anaya smirked through the other line.

"Unfortunately. So what's up?" he sighed and glanced at the still sobbing Annelei, praying that Chelsea wouldn't join the trend.

"Are you okay? Sounds like a circus gone wrong in there." She laughed, though she tried not to. She knew Larson was trying to be better, with the babies there and all. She had to give him credit for how good he was being.

"Kill me. Do you know how to get a baby to stop crying?" he asked desperately.

"Did you feed her?"

"Yes."

"Change her diaper?"

"Yes."

"Put her to sleep?"

"YES!"

"Then geez…I dunno what to tell ya'. Maybe you should call Lara."

"She's at work…I can't…" he moaned and then forced himself to do it anyways. "Thanks Anaya."

"I'll call later. Bye."

"Bye…" He dialled Lara's phone number and waited impatiently for her to pick up and answer. "Lara?"

"Yes?" she replied and instantly knew what was going on from the background of the other line. "Is it Annelei?" she smirked lightly and continued to type on her computer.

"How did you know?! Lara she's driving me up a wall! I don't mean to interrupt your work but she is crying to no end! It's been four hours Lara! FOUR!" he groaned and tapped his foot to match the beat of Annelei's endless, merciless cries.

"Yeah she has a rash. I've been spending my free time trying to find a doctor that is available…but they're all booked until November and I'm not going to drive to the complete other end of England just to get a cream. I'll be going to the drug store to pick up rash cream when I come home, so dinner will be late. Just hang in there for a couple more hours, Larson. If it becomes worse than now, call." Lara was fiercely typing on the computer, frantically trying to search for an available doctor.

"Come on! There has to be a doctor! You're telling me that not a single doctor in Southern England is available? That's ridiculous! So that means London, Hampshire, Kent, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Berkshire hospitals are booked? For that long?!"

"Exactly. The deadly virus, Marburg, is spreading like wildfire. People are dying left and right." She sighed and lye back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling helplessly.

He remained silent for several minutes and sighed. "I love you."

She smiled, "Dido."

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Lara was dragging herself from bed and fainted to the floor. Her skin was jaundice, her eyelids were inflamed, her insides felt like exploding, and her skin was peeling off. Her head swam often, her weight was dropping excessively, and she had to sleep alone. Larson came in with a facemask on and gloves and a hat, but tried to make things seem more normal for her. "Hey…how're you feeling?" he asked as he rubbed her boiling feverish head.

"That was the dumbest question ever. I feel sick, the doctor is having me take some crappy medicine, and I can't see anyone at all. My weight is decreasing, my skin is jaundice, and I can barely keep my eyes open. And I keep falling over, as you can see right now. Please help me up." She clenched her fists in anger and wanted to give the floor a good whack.

"I can see that you're mad, but you need to conserve your energy for the fight inside of your body. Besides, you need to go back to sleep. Doctor says at least fifteen hours of sleep. C'mon." he lifted her up and gently set her frail body back onto the bed.

"Larson I need to pee." She complained and moved to get off the bed once more. "Because I'm not like a guy, I can't hold it in that long."

"I'll help you. God you've gotten light. I brought food. How do you feel about a nice English muffin with some cream of chicken soup and a mug of apple cider? Good eats right?" he tried to lift her broken, ill spirit.

"I don't want any of that Larson. I just want to see my daughters and hold them again. Just once…that's all…I'd give my life for it…" she frowned and glanced at the door.

"Yeah well it might cost them their lives too. I'm so sorry Lara. I know you want to see them. You should want to…after all, they are your little angels." He wrapped his arm around her back and guided her to the potty.

Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ Ϯ

"You're all settled Mrs. Conway. No more disease, you're crystal clear to do whatever. Now about something else…I couldn't help but notice a…mark…we think you may have breast cancer." The doctor said happily, but when he got to different news, he frowned and got serious again.

"E-e-e-excuse me? That's not possible; my family never had a history of breast cancer before! You've got confused…whatever it is…no…you're wrong!" she started to sob.

The doctor put his hand on Lara's shoulder and looked straight into her red, foggy eyes. "I will do my best to get the complete result that is one-hundred percent accurate. Just give me a week."

"How are you going to do that?" she asked, sobbing, but had a spark of hope somewhere deep inside her.

"If you give me permission to take a blood sample and a MRI, it would be most ideal. I can give you the information in one week if we act within today or tomorrow."

She sighed and held out her arm.

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"Lara, I'm so sorry…" she held her breath, "We found a rather large lump on both of your breasts. If it gets any bigger your chances of living are grim."

"What do you mean both breasts? That never happens…not much at least…" she trembled, an idea of what they were going to have to do replayed in her mind continuously.

"We scarcely got any information on why both have it, but we know for sure that we need to take it out by this afternoon. We need you here by twelve p.m. on the dot to begin." The doctor hung up shortly after.

"Larson!" she cried out. He came running in to her and she immediately embraced him in a massive hug. "Larson they're going to take both of my breasts off! Larson help me!" she was talking in a mad rush.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. They're what?" he was taken back, thought he was imagining something.

"Larson I have breast cancer and they said that there is a gigantic lump on both breasts and they're going to take them off by tonight! Larson it's awful! Help me! Please!"

"Oh my God!" he started to weep and hugged her tighter. They both panicked. They both sobbed. They went to the hospital, and got her surgery. She woke up within an hour of the Anaesthesia wearing down. She looked down; she had seen what was once there was no more. A knock came, it was Larson. "Hey baby…how are you?"

"I've just lost half of myself. Everything…is gone…and the fact that my head is throbbing doesn't add to the pleasure." She mumbled and hung her head low.

"You're getting breast implants I've heard." He remembered.

"They should be doing it soon. I'm not going to be like this the rest of my godforsaken life, Larson."

"Everything is fine. Don't think about it. It's over with now…"

"Over with? Larson my life has turned upside down forever!" she hollered.

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_**Thanks to:**_

_**Inmate1099: She's allowing him to beat her because she's so madly in love with him and because he can make her melt into his arms, he can snap her heart as easy as a toothpick. So the dilly is that he broke her heart, her spirit, and she was weak because of him. It's stupid, I know, but it falls into place later into the plot (the main one of course (: ). So yeah lol.**_


	8. Life Liberty and Hell

**OMG YOU GUYS THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING! I just found this chapter I wrote back in July 2009! Sorry for this!  


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It seemed to be that life had taken a standstill ever since Lara had gotten her surgery. Scarcely did one ever see her smile and she was quieter than ever. A black cloud had hung over her and was ever present when she was conscious.

"Lara are you going to stop daydreaming or are we going to skip the dinner?" Larson sighed and tapped his foot impatiently on the wooden oak floor. She was sitting frumpily on the bed and staring into a black space. She simply shrugged and sighed. "Speak!" he demanded.

"Could you be a little nicer please?" she yelled furiously. She got up and left the room with a shotgun-levelled smack with the door. She dragged her miserable self to the girl's room and got into her gentle mood. "Hey Sweets. How are you doing this morning?" she asked gently as she picked Chelsea up and cradled the growing baby in her bony arms. Chelsea let out a little moan and opened her eyes unwillingly. Lara stroked the baby girl's delicate face.

Ever since Lara had felt the girls kick her stomach, something inside her clicked. Her rough and aggressive touch became gentle and, well, motherly. She had anger still inside of her, no doubt, but she often automatically replaced it with peace and hints of serenity. It wasn't good for when she would go back to her old habits and uncover myths that turned out to be real, though highly stretched out with fantasy, and tomb raiding. She needed her old personality to stay alive, and she knew she couldn't do it, not then, not when she had two babies.

Things seemed weird, and when it wasn't thought about thoroughly, neither of the parents seemed to remember their children's existence. It was still so unreal, though time had long since abandoned the day that the girls were indeed born. It was more unreal to Larson than it was Lara, considering she had to be around twenty-four-seven. She often couldn't believe that they were hers. Had she forgotten the day that they came into this world? Surely she couldn't, it was the most important day in her life…could she?

"Look I know you're mad but you've got to get over your introverted ways and move on. What's in the past is in the past. Now are we going to the dinner or not?" Larson came in impatiently.

"I'm not leaving the girls behind." Lara said gently and planted a kiss Chelsea's pale forehead.

"It's just a couple of hours!" Larson groaned and looked accusingly at Annelei. "I think they would understand if they had a brain."

"If they had a brain? Who the hell are you to say if they have brains or not? Leaving them for a couple hours when they are a little older I can understand, but they're babies. A couple hours can mean life or death for them. So no, I'm not going." She gave him an evil glare and gave him the stink eye. "So you can take the dinner and shove it up your arse."

"Fuck you." Larson mumbled and slammed the door, causing Annelei to cry. Lara frowned and walked over to the shelf and grabbed a stuffed animal zebra called Zinky. Zinky, Lara found, could stop any of the babies crying within minutes. It was soft and fluffy, and it was a great replacement for when Lara could not hold them at a certain time.

"It's okay. We'll make our own fun." She smiled and picked up both girls and lay down on her own bed, laying down and setting the small children on her belly. "How about a good book? Like the Ugly Duckling or the Curious Puppy. Those were my favourites." She giggled and read the book.

"Hello?" she answered the phone in a crackling voice.

"Did I wake you?" Amanda asked with an obvious grin. She twirled her thick blond hair and kicked back into her egg white leather sofa.

"Oh I dunno, its 3 a.m. on a Tuesday. Let me check. Of course you did. Look, I've got work today, I need sleep." Lara groaned and sat up as she glanced at Larson, who was stirring from his sleep.

"Lara?" he asked sleepily.

"Go back to sleep Hun'." She said briefly before turning her attention back to Amanda. "What do you want?"

"I've got something you might be interested in. An artefact to be precise." Amanda smiled casually and clicked her mouse to get the full view of the data chart on the computer screen.

"Look, I understand you want to vent this info to me, but tell me later. Get some sleep and I'll call you when I get out of work." Lara informed and then hung up.

"What was all of that about?" Larson asked, starting to wake up.

"It's nothing worth discussing. Good night." Lara yawned and curled up in the sheets before dozing off.

"So you said something an artefact. What's it about?" Lara asked immediately when Amanda picked up the phone.

"It's just some artefact that the Japanese had possessed thousands of years ago." Amanda exasperated and sat up in her bed and rubbed her face.

"Is that all? C'mon Amanda, you were so excited before! Tell me!" Lara begged.

"For starters, it's called the Blade of the Jade Buddha. It's somewhere in Okinawa, Japan."

"Okayyy. What's the history?"

"How about we meet somewhere in a nice café? Say Panera Bread?" Amanda sighed and ran to get a pad of paper.

"Panera Bread? _**You**_ want _**me**_ to go to _**America**_ to discuss this? Isn't that a little needy of you to be asking that? After all, we can always talk about it over the phone—" Lara smiled helplessly and also got a pad of paper out to write out the schedule.

"I've got the papers. Unless you don't want them. Besides, it's not going to kill you or anything. You can afford it, I can't. You travel all the time, this should be no big." Amanda interrupted rudely.

"Why can't you just fax it to me or send it via e-mail? Don't tell me you can't afford the postage to send a letter! If that's the case Amanda, well, lay off the booze for a while! That's all I can say." Lara laughed and dragged her briefcase to the Manor.

"Leave the booze out of this Lara. It's not that I can't afford it, I just rather not be in jail…or worse. These are illegal papers I'm dealing with. It's hard enough keeping them a secret with the government all over the place and invading the people's privacy. Do you know what I had to go through to print these without being noticed?" Amanda rolled her eyes. "Besides, we haven't seen each other in about a coon's age, so it'd be nice to see you again. Is that so much to ask? That and I want to see your little…'darlings' pictures. How are they by the way?"

"Oh and you want me to have them so I can get busted? The Queen is much worse than your whole government put together. She will eat you alive. You have privileges beyond belief compared to us Brits. And especially since I'm kind of important, my ancestor's whole efforts to get us this way will go to very waste. My title can be taken away at any time, anywhere, at any place. I'm not laying waste to my family."

"Oh, well then see? If you come over here, then you can see them and then we burn them. Simple as that right? Should be no problem, you have a photographic memory, after all."

"Whatever. Why are they illegal anyways?" Lara wondered.

"It's a sacred deal with the Japanese and everyone else must respect their beliefs. If it's myth then why are they so uptight? I don't get it."

"Well then if that's all, then sure." Lara exaggerated.

"Oh puhleeze you do illegal things all the time. Why is now so important?" Amanda scoffed and looked at the horrid puke green curtains that did not match the blood red walls one bit. "I need a makeover for my home." She sighed.

"Ok…that was random." Lara laughed briefly. "Anyways, the reason this is so important now is because I'm on strike for my last adventure. One more illegal act and I'm done for."

"Damn, what did you do?" Amanda giggled.

"Something illegal. The authorities are getting tired of my dexterity. There's nothing I can do, Amanda. I might really have to put an end to my adventures once and for all." Lara did not want to say this, but she knew that if she didn't, her family's life is on the line, and she'd get the boot if she did another illegal thing. If she didn't own the Manor, then her uncle Errol would own it, and as far as she was concerned, he would never get it, not over her dead body. He was the next to inherit it, but that thought made her get the creeps. He was so irresponsible and he was notoriously known for his attention seeking needs. She was sick of her family. They all wanted the same thing: money, power, and unlimited fame. The Croft Family's amazing reputation would surely crumble the very instant that her other family members took hold of the Manors. And while Lara was still a blood Croft, she wouldn't ever let that happen, she respected her ancestors too much.

"Don't say that. You know you can't, and besides, you always seem to crawl your way out of things anywho. Just tell them that it's really important and that it could threaten the very existence of humanity and that the worthless guards can't handle it due to inexperience. No big, right? They should understand." Amanda pleaded.

"If I do, you owe me big." Lara scowled in defeat.

"Consider the artefact to be your reward." Amanda teased.

"So Panera Bread? Say, seven-ish your time next week Wednesday?" Lara wrote furiously on the pad of paper and then put it in her suitcase and entered the Manor, only to feel the divine warmth of the fire that Winston, her butler, had started.

"It's a date then. Laters Tootz." Amanda smiled, victorious over Lara. That was bragging rights for two days for Amanda.


	9. A Choice for the Children

Lara straightened her back and sat up weakly. Annelei was gazing dumbfounded at her mother as drool oozed out of her mouth. The large bruise outlined where her jawbone sat. Lara massaged her face gently and exchanged glances between the two. Chelsea was less dazed but her focus still hawked Lara like prey.

Uncomfortably, Lara shifted in her seat. "You two want to go to the park?" she finally broke the silence and inhaled a breath of relief as the young children smiled and shattered the slightly haunting contest of who could stare the longest.

"What about Daddy?" Chelsea asked, her little four-year-old voice sparked up and she leaped off the seat.

Lara frowned, "Daddy isn't feeling so well. Why don't you girls go and put on something that you can move around in."

"A dress?" Chelsea questioned as her girly features illuminated as she smiled. Lara shook her head and rolled her eyes as both girls failed to understand the concept of 'playtime wear'. Lara took the hands of both daughters and guided them to their room.

"You mean this?" Chelsea teased and giggled as she reached for Lara's dress.

"How'd my dress get in here?" Lara asked suspiciously and tickled the brunette beauty.

"We plotted against your wardrobe and snuck in while you were safely sound asleep." Chelsea grinned as she donned a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

Lara picked out some clothes and helped put them on Annelei. "So silent today, baby?" Lara spoke softly into Annelei's ear and kissed her peach fuzz cheek. Annelei just smiled and reached up to be carried. Lara embraced her in a hug and carried her.

The children reminisced as they pranced around and tackled one another. Anaya watched her three-year-old son, Mason, chase Annelei and acted like a fuzzy monster. Lara watched eagerly behind sunglasses and smiled firmly.

"What's…wrong with Annelei?" Anaya finally asked as Lara turned her head to give complete eye contact.

"She has autism." Lara sighed heavily and crossed her legs, her hand supporting her tired head as she instinctively scanned the situation.

"Autism? Aren't people born with that? She seemed just fine for the first year."

"After I found out she had a rash, and then finally got around to get her to a doctor months later, they said it wasn't the rash that caused her to cry relentlessly. I found out that day that she had a disorder. To this day, I've paid more and more attention to her than before."

"But why would she get it? Wouldn't Chelsea have it?"

"I don't know why Chelsea doesn't have it, Anaya, but I do know that it was because of the brutal beatings just before they were born. For some reason, the blows affected her and not her sister. I'm kind of glad Chelsea doesn't have it, even if Annelei has to pay the price."

"Well of course. It's a hard pill to swallow but jeeze; can you imagine two disordered kids?" Anaya frowned and shifted closer to Lara.

"At that point I would've had Larson's ass thrown in jail. You know how hard it is to raise a kid on your own. Larson doesn't do anything at all; he doesn't feel like he is obligated to do so. The most work he's done is lifting his fist to punch me. He doesn't work. God, I would just think that he'd get the picture by now but he doesn't care!"

"Why don't you just tell the authorities about him and have him put away?"

"Because if he got free he'd literally slice my head off, along with gouging my organs out and feeding them to the dogs at the pound. That's the absolute least of my concern. What should become of the girls if they were kidnapped by Larson and if they didn't have a mother and their father was a killer in prison? Then what?"

"You worry too much." Anaya breathed deeply and took Lara's hand gently. "Get a divorce. Just get out of there, Lara. For the girls' sake if not your own. The last thing you need is more shit."

Lara took off her sunglasses and directly stared into Anaya's eyes with her brownish red, bushy ones. "Same scenario as the prison. It's not like I can change the locks."

"Lara please don't cry." The two grown women hugged each other for a while, Lara sobbing and Anaya shedding angry tears. "Why can't you?"

"I…I don't know…it just doesn't seem safe. He might just break the door down. I can't risk my daughters' safety. It's something that–"

"You don't think that their safety is in danger right now? Lara, their traumatized, look at them. Do you want them to see their mother beaten down and bloody and bruised? Or do you want them to witness a strong woman who will always be there for her kids?"

"I hope my kids already know that I will always be there for them. I tell them that everyday and how much they mean to me. Anaya I can't do this. It's like a Rubix Cube that no man alive has solved."

"No man. But you're a woman Lara. A strong one that just needs time for her wounds to scab. You used to be so independent, and now that Larson's in the picture, you're about as tough as a piece of paper. Fight back and give your kids the life you never had."

Lara's head shot up to see Chelsea catching glimpses over in her direction. Lara smiled a fake one and turned to Anaya. "Give me two weeks."


	10. Unconscious

**Oh my gosh! Sorry for the long wait! Hope no-one has given up faith...Talk about heavy duty! With exams and no computer, it's been a tough year. This isn't exactly the best entry, and yea it's always about Lara being beaten up, but karma shall strike (bwahahahaha). yea so anyways, hope you enjoy. RxR if you want. No pressure...HURRY UP ALREADY! no just kidding :P

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Like any normal night: Lara would tuck the girls into bed and read them a story. The room seemed to be colder in particular, that night. Annelei glanced at her sister and opened her mouth to say something but decided against it before she spoke. "Chelsea, why does mamma shake so much?" the little one asked.

Chelsea shrugged, "Its cold in here, Annelei."

"Oh," she sighed and shifted in her bed. She had an urge to say something else, but quickly forgot. Both of them had been studying their mum carefully ever since the one day at the park.

Lara had been a good person about keeping secrets. At least she had been. For some reason, she was just tired all of the time and, in some cases, unable to stand upright. She hardly ever smiled and what was worse was that she started to visit Chelsea and Annelei less and less often.

"Why does mamma cry so much?" Annelei asked, more curious about that lone question than anything else.

"I don't know, Annelei. She just does. I think it's what old people do when they're bored," Chelsea sighed. "Now go to sleep already. You interrupted my good dream."

"But Chelsea!"

"Shush and go to sleep! Mamma will get really mad if you keep talking! No wonder you're so stupid, you never sleep."

"I'm not stupid…" Annelei frowned.

"Yeah-huh! Mummy said so," Chelsea grumbled and turned irritated, facing her sister and staring her dead in the eyes impatiently.

"Stop lying! Mamma would never call me stupid!"

"I heard her say so," Chelsea said in a matter-of-fact tone and rolled her eyes. "Quit crying Annelei and go to sleep. How many times do I have to tell you?"

The four-year-old sobbing girl flew out of her bed and went weeping to her parents' room, not bothering with knocking. "Mamma!" she cried out and fled to Lara's side of the bed.

Lara's eyes heavily opened and her voice came out scratchy. "What's wrong?" She nudged Larson and he moved over as he too woke up unwillingly. Lara picked Annelei up and lye her down on the bed, softly hushing her daughter to calm down.

"Chelsea said you called me stupid!"

"Why would I say that?" Lara spoke gently and caressed Annelei's forehead, moving some rabid strands of hair out of her eyes. "Calm down, sweetheart."

"Fucking…ugh! Chelsea!" Larson growled and grabbed Lara's arm fiercely. Lara winced in pain and kept her eyes away from the raging man she called husband.

Chelsea scooted into the room nervously and stood at the doorway, expecting nothing less than a spanking. Larson stomped over to the girl and raised his hand. Lara shot up and dashed over to him. "Don't you dare, Larson Conway!" she barked and grabbed his hand abruptly. "Touch her and I swear to God, I'll put you in jail!" Her grip was iron; there was no way of release. Larson stared at her, tempting her to try her warning. Chelsea looked as shocked as a shined dear and acted on impulse, running to her sister for safety.

"We'll discuss this later," Larson growled and ripped his hand out of Lara's grip, walking out of the room. Lara sighed and angrily looked at her daughters. It wasn't their fault, but damn it they sure had a way of making things harder for her. Lara walked over to the girls and took Annelei into her arms, carrying her to her room swiftly, leaving the other to sit there in shame.

"Annelei," Lara began irritably, "you have to learn to deal with what people say to you. For Christ's sake, it wasn't that big of a deal. You're not stupid, dear, so stop listening to your sister. She's jealous of you, got it?" Annelei stared at her with hurt eyes as her mother said cold words to her. "Look, I'm sorry. Okay? I do love you. But honey, just stop tattling on your sister every time she says something."

"Yes, mamma," she nodded and looked off in the distance.

"Hey," Lara whispered in her ear, "I love you."

"I love you too…"

"Get some sleep, yeah? Long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" she asked with curiosity.

"Stuff," Lara shrugged and tucked Annelei in. Then she gave her a goodnight kiss and walked back into her own bedroom. Upon her arrival, she saw Chelsea sitting on the bed, sobbing her little heart out. "Chelse…"

"I didn't mean it! She was just being so annoying and-"

"Regardless, you never say that to someone. Not if they were your worst enemies or someone who just plain doesn't know when to shut their mouths. People are sensitive beings. You can't just go around telling people how stupid they are, or how so and so said this and that."

"Preaching to the mirror there, Lara?" Larson chuckled and emerged from the bathroom. His eyes almost seemed red and his knuckles were white. Lara jumped for a second but almost immediately turned that fear into rage.

"Fuck off, Larson," she growled and gave him an icy stare. Her shoulders tensed and her jaws clamped together. She was ready for whatever he was going to do.

"What're you gonna do, Lara? You gonna fight back? Have you forgotten the last time you had one of those 'power woman' feelings?" he saw Chelsea staring with her jaw dropped.

"Yes, Larson lets talk about this right in front of our four year old daughter! Really, it's a great idea! Why don't you smack me around in front of her too while you're at it? Then she'll she how great of a father you are! Great old times!" Lara shouted.

Larson's smirk turned into an immediate scowl and he marched towards her. "You want to be a smartass eh?" His hand punched Lara's left temple and sent her toppling back into the small bedside desk. She got up slowly, only to lose her balance again. Her head swam, though she should've been used to the beatings. Why'd he have to be so damn aggressive?

"Daddy!" cried out Chelsea, grabbing his free arm to distract him. Out of his own anger, he slapped her and thrust her away.

"Go back into your room, now!" he shouted, causing her to shudder and cry. "Don't you fucking cry! I said go back to your damn room!" Lara attempted to attack him whilst he was vulnerable; however he shrugged her off and punched her in the face. A powerful blow and she was down. She lye there unconscious and still.

Chelsea screamed and ran out of the room, frantically searching for a phone to call the police. Thankfully that was one of the defence lessons Lara had taught them earlier. Larson wasn't far behind her and shouted out her name as he chased her, daring her to get help.

Wary and frightened, Annelei awoke immediately and raced to her mum's room, only to find her lying in a small pool of her own blood. To find the source, she checked. Blood oozed out from Lara's nose and also her mouth. She cried in terror and shook Lara, screaming for her to wake up. Nothing would work. Afraid she was dead, Annelei roamed around for something – anything. Just as long as she could find help.

Lara's cell phone was buried under her dirty clothes to be hidden from Larson. Annelei dialled the number and frantically rambled to the police about what was happening. She hung up and faced her father. In his hand was Chelsea, hanging from her shirt, bruised and bleeding from her mouth.

It was a dream! Surely it wasn't real! He would never – would he?


	11. Setting Things Right

_**Hello my children. I've devized another chapter to feed your minds (bwahahahaha). Got anything to say? RxR Oh and I'ma say this cuz everyone else is doing it... (lol "want some drugs? everyone else is doin them" "Sure!") back to the subject! I don't own Tomb Raider. I do own Annelei, Chelsea, that one desk lady, the officer and the nurse :P

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Her face was numb from the icepack. "Mummy, the icepack is hurting me," complained Chelsea while Lara was holding it against her temple. She looked around for her sister and saw that she was sleeping on the chair in the police station. People were chatting and eating donuts on their break. Keyboards were being occupied to no end and the people who weren't police were occasionally glancing over at her.

"Maybe if you just held still it wouldn't hurt as much," Lara sighed and switched hands, the ice numbing her hand as well. It was one a.m. and it seemed as if it were in the afternoon. The lights were utterly blinding and the room was crowded beyond belief. It sort of smelt like a hospital with all the sweat; it kind of made Chelsea want to gag. She was glad, however, to be away from home. The events left her mind frying. How could her father do that to her?

An officer showed up and lightly tapped Lara's shoulder. She stood upright and made perfect eye contact with him. She looked ridiculous with the two puffs hanging from her nose. What was there to do? Her nose was already broken and the bleeding eventually stopped. Her lip was gashed and her temple had an unmistakable bruise on it. He'd hit her so harshly that it left his fist mark on her face. "Mrs. Conway, we would like to question you about the event and, if need be, to talk about the further history of this attack."

Lara nodded her head in response. Before she had gone to the little office area, she knelt down to Chelsea and kissed her lips softly. "Watch over your sister while I'm away, all right? Make sure she doesn't try to do anything…you know." Chelsea nodded and grabbed the icepack, setting it to her temple, and wobbled over to her twin. Poor Annelei had gotten it worse. She had actually managed to call the cops. For her consequence, Larson had almost killed her. Choked her and shook her to death. Her whole face was bloodied and her eyes were both black. She was terrified understatedly and her bones ached as he'd succeeded in breaking her arm.

"Chelsea…" she sobbed suddenly. "What if daddy comes back? What if he escapes and finds mamma?" she trembled in her seat and buried her head in her sister's shoulder. Chelsea embraced her into a disheveled hug and started to cry as well. "I don't know, Annelei," Chelsea whispered and closed her eyes, as if to block out the world. Visions came back to her; her eyes snapped open instantly.

Within a while Lara had come back out. Instinctively she looked around for her kids, and panicked when she couldn't find them. "Chelse? Annelei?" Lara called out, hoping they could hear her. She approached the service desk and tried to calm herself down. "Two little girls, have you seen them?"

"The assaulted ones? An officer took them 'round back to keep them out of the busy traffic. I'll have her bring them back out here to you," the plump lady said kindly and dialled the number for the woman keeping the twins. "Yea, the girls, if you could bring them back that'd be lovely."

Lara's head shot up and caught them coming out of a small office. Both were silently crying to themselves. She ran over and embraced them into a group hug, mindful of Annelei's broken arm. "Thank God…" she sighed and glanced up at the man who'd just finished discussing with her.

"Mamma is daddy going to come back?" they both asked in unison, as if they practiced the line a million times to perfect it. Their faces were horrified and weak, and they could easily pass out if given the chance.

Lara looked up at the man, who in turn nodded approvingly. She looked back at the girls and smiled weakly. "No. He's not going to come around for a very long time. He's going to be locked up so he can't hurt you any longer." Lara was uneasy about their expressions; she thought they'd be at least a little happier, but their faces went into a deeper frown. "Girls…" Lara whispered, "I know he's your father, and you'll miss him despite of what he's done, but he won't hurt you anymore."

Deep down inside, Lara felt guilty for locking him up. Why? She had no clue. He was trying for a while. Maybe she shouldn't have threatened him. Maybe it wasn't feeling sorry for him, but feeling horrible for taking her little kids' dad away. They barely knew him anyways since he was gone most of their life, probably screwing other women despite the fact that they were married. What would become of them? Saying that their dad was in prison because he tried to kill everyone in the house wasn't something to exactly boast about. She'd felt rotten for choosing such an animal for a husband. The fact that she knew he was a tool before they'd conceived was one thing, but dragging her kids into that lifestyle she'd so foolishly chosen, it shouldn't have happened. The looks on their faces would scar Lara. It indeed was her fault, and if the twins blamed her was irrelevant.

They just stayed silent until Annelei cried out in pain. "You should probably go to the hospital," the man suggested and examined the completely purple arm. Lara agreed and scooped her up into her arms, holding Chelsea's hand with her other one. "Take care. If anything else happens, contact me immediately. Also, if we find out any more about the sentence, we'll let you know ASAP."

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Lara sat beside the hospital bed and held Annelei's healthy hand. Chelsea studied the room and the machines, basically anything but see her sister. Her injuries were surprisingly minor with the exception of the broken arm. Annelei was cleaned up and almost like new. Some scars lingered here and there, but they were only noticeable if someone squinted to see them, or stared at her for a long time.

The sun had already begun to rise and whatever sleep the three of them didn't catch, it certainly caught up now. Lara's eyes started to close without instruction and Chelsea had fallen asleep on her mother's lap within seconds. "You'll be okay, Annelei, I promise," Lara whispered almost inaudible. She lined Annelei's eyebrow and watched her fall asleep. It was an exhausting day. Lara wouldn't go to sleep though. She wanted to stay alert for anything and everything. She looked out the window of the hospital room and saw the different shades of pinks and purples as the huge orange sun popped out from the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, but it was a tragic day.

Finally the sun was fully out and the morning held a clear blue sky. Birds were heard singing a Capella and the noise of cars trying to get to work on time interrupted her peace. A nurse walked in silently and noticed Lara hadn't gotten the feeling of sleep for several hours. "Ma'am," she asked in a very soft voice. Lara's head turned automatically to the nurse's direction. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"No thank you ma'am." The nurse smiled and nodded, heading over to Annelei and checking up on her arm. Once the lady left, Chelsea began to stir from her sleep. "Go back to sleep baby. It's only eight a.m." Lara began to stroke Chelsea's head and leaned back into the chair. Oh yes, it was the most uncomfortable day she'd ever had. For a while, she didn't even think giving birth was as bad as the incident not too long earlier.

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Anaya called once she heard what happened on the news. It was all a mad rush of words and Lara had to hush her up before she exploded. "I assure you Anaya, that Larson is put in prison."

"Before the trial? How can you be so sure? Where is he being kept?"

"Any case where there's an abusive relationship and children are involved, its already classified on jail time. If the kids are being abused, it's a matter of how long the abuser has to serve…" Anaya started to ramble on again before Lara could finish. Abruptly, Lara tried to override her frantic friend. "He's in jail right now, Anaya. There's no possible way he can escape…well, yes but-" Lara sighed. "I'll talk to you later. Chao."

She had gotten another phone call in half hour. "Hello?" she answered. The familiar masculine voice had replied to her something short and to the point. "Ten a.m on Sunday? Alrighty, thank you officer." Great, now to handle the real bitch.


	12. Unfair Judgement and a Gun

**Yea so the title kinda says too much but don't assume anything! I was quite pleased with this chapter. Hope you enjoy. If you want RxR. Disclaimer: I own everyone except for the following: Lara, Larson and Anaya. I don't own tomb raider. Love to, but don't.

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The chattering was immense in the courtroom. Larson had given Lara evil glances constantly. Lara's face was pale, her stomach was about to burst and she dare not make eye contact with her husband, who, she noticed barely, was in a grey one-piece suit (like pyjamas) and in two sets of handcuffs. Those alone made Lara want to pass out. If he was that strong where the cops had to latch two iron manacles to keep him contained, she really underestimated his power. Every man has supernatural strength compared to women, but for it to be that strong to the point where one wasn't enough?

Lara swallowed hard and peered out the corner of her eyes only to find him staring dead at her with a determined look. He was going to kill her. It didn't matter if it would take five minutes or five years, he'd do it. A ball of sweat rolled down her bruised temple as she shook lightly.

Her lawyer put a hand on her shoulder and saw her disdain clearly. "Settle down, he won't harm you again."

Lara simply nodded and looked back to find her kids. Anaya came, of course she did, and she did it only for her friend's sake for sanity. Mason was drawing with Chelsea, but Annelei stared Lara down. She was in the front row, where all of the family members sat. "Hey baby," Lara stroked Annelei's olive-skinned face and kissed her forehead.

Impatiently, the judge smacked his little stick thingy onto a piece of wood and demanded silence. After donning his funky 80's glasses, he sorted through the paperwork and scanned the important details. "Okay," he began, his voice booming, startling Lara. "Larson Conway is convicted of domestic violence, attempted murder and a divorce is filed against him, correct?" he looked Lara directly in the eyes, waiting for her reply.

"Y-yes, Sir," she stammered. He urged her on to speak more. Dumbfounded, Lara remained silent. What was she supposed to say?

"There are children involved?" he pursued. Lara simply nodded and replied with a hushed 'yes'. "After nine complaints listed against Larson, each discredited by you," he looked up at Lara from above the papers with a cocked eyebrow, "a report was sent that you were, quote on quote: 'dying in your own pool of blood and unconscious.'" Lara was puzzled as to whole the hell would say that. "At one in the morning on seventeenth of May, 1995, your daughter, four year-old Annelei Michelle Conway, called authorities while crying that Larson had gone insane and killed her mother."

"What I want to know is: why the hell you denied the abuse earlier? Especially with children involved! You can easily have your children taken away from you for that alone. I don't give a Cindy sob story if you 'loved him and were afraid of him'. Why in God's name did you let him around little four-year old girls? When children are involved and no action is taken, you are held completely responsible for their safety and are otherwise put in jail for endangering them. That is classified as environmental abuse and will not be tolerated," the judge continued, gradually getting louder with each specific enunciation.

"Sir, may I say that Larson Conway had tried several times to kill me for trying-" Lara started.

"Then you call the police. If you didn't have the ability to, a friend was absolutely supposed to. There are four witnesses. One person listed nine domestic violence files, each of them you so solemnly denied," the judge started to get pissed. "What kind of idiot does that make you? You come here to court today because he 'pulled the last straw out of the haystack'?"

"Sir, he almost killed both of the girls and-"

"But you must've known that he was going to! Wouldn't you get the hint that maybe he would go out of control insane and kill everyone? After _**nine**_ times of being confronted about the complaint? Are you kidding me?"

Lara sat there, ashamed and embarrassed. "He has records of going to anger management classes."

"So I see, so I see," the judge confirmed. "About eight months faithfully going to the meetings…until you went into labour. Then he stopped?" Lara nodded. "Do you really think that someone can change through therapy? Miss Croft," he sighed, "I've dealt with a lot of psychos in my career. If there's one thing I've learned, is that they don't get better. Why would they change if they don't think anything's wrong with them?"

"All right, if Chelsea Gabriella Conway can please come up for questioning," the police officer announced as Chelsea's head shot up with shock. She slowly rose up and scooted over to the questioning seat in the front of the courtroom.

Lara's lawyer stood up quickly and swiftly moved by Chelsea. "I'm going to question you about the events on the recent attack, okay?" the woman said gently. She nodded and the lady continued. "Chelsea what do you remember about the attack which occurred on the seventeenth of May?"

"Well," she coughed. "My sister wouldn't go to sleep. I told her she was stupid and she went crying to my mum. After that I remember being called by my dad and went in. He looked at me like he was going to kill me. He was about to punch me when mum grabbed his fist and stopped him. When he left, she carried Annelei to our room and left me. Dad was around the corner and I guess he was unnoticed because he came in silently and grabbed me by the throat."

"Did he say anything to you?" the lady asked, more blunt than before.

"Yeah but I couldn't understand him," Chelsea replied, automatically rubbing her throat as she recollected the memory.

"Please continue."

"He heard footsteps so he hid in the bathroom. When mum came in the room, I burst into tears and she told me to hold my tongue and not say mean things to other people. Dad appeared and started to scream at my mum and she threatened him…"

"What did she say?"

"Uhm," she tried remembering. "She told him to…I can't say it. It's a bad word."

"What did it start with?"

"It was the 'F' word. She told him to…off. He got all mad and started to punch her," she glanced over at Lara, who had a deep frown painted on her beautifully crafted face. "She passed out after he punched her in the nose. I ran to get help and he started to chase me. I was almost there but he grabbed the back of my neck and threw me down to the ground and started to beat me. Next thing I knew was I barely saw Annelei…she had a really scared expression on her face and that's the last thing I remember."

"Thank you Annelei," the lawyer sighed. "Did you ever notice or see your father beat your mother before this incident?"

"I never saw him do it but I do remember my mum all bruised up and sometimes bloodied. It wasn't just her face. Her arms and legs and even her tummy was bruised and all weird looking. When I asked her what was wrong she would never answer. She said that she was fine."

"All right, you can go back to your seat now. Thank you," The judge whispered gently to the little girl. Chelsea sighted Larson glaring at her with menacing eyes and sent shivers to her bones. Lara faked a smile to Chelsea to give her a reassurance that she needed after being scared to death.

* * *

"After a long decision, the jury has finally decided. Please pass in your votes," the fat judge commanded with unmistakable boredom. "Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty." Larson's heart was hammering. How dare they find him that way! Lara was using her voodoo to convince them. That was no mistake. "Larson Conway is found guilty as charged. Larson Conway will serve thirty years in prison. By this I also do declare the divorce granted. However," the man said. "Lara Croft is also charged for endangerment. She will serve one year in jail. The children will be put into the custody of a family member until release. That will be all. Case closed." Another smack of his little wooden doodad hit the desk he sat in.

Lara's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" she yelped. Larson was stood up by two guards. How foolish they were to think they could contain him. With incredible hulking strength, he busted both manacles and punched one of the fat lard officers while grabbing the gun of the other.

"You've done it this time, Croft!" Larson spat angrily. A bullet pierced through Lara's left side before she could react, crashing to the ground, stunned. Guards spilt from every corner and dragged Larson down while paramedics came and attended to Lara instantly. People started to run in terror, both girls screamed and Anaya jumped over the pews to Lara just as soon as Lara got shot. "You'll pay you bitch! I swear on my life!" Larson hollered as they dragged him away.

Lara's head felt feverish and she gripped her left rib firmly, screaming out in immense agony. The bullet was removed but blood spurted out even worse after that, even coming out of her mouth. "We need to get her to the hospital immediately!" the paramedics panicked.

As they carried Lara off, she reached out and managed to touch Chelsea's cheek, accidentally smearing her blood on her.


	13. Bad Habit

**Hey guys and gals! This is the longest chapter so far! Okay so future warnings: This will be the last chapter (not in the story) but it will be the last chapter for a couple of weeks. Have to celebrate a sibling's birthday and then this whole drama drama drama with exams. So feed well my children. Eat slowly or else you'll choke on this chapter :) anyways, happy feasting and hasta la vista! RxR if you want and yes, the DiScLaImEr: _I_ _own_ _everyone_ and _everything_ except for Lara and Larson. this is so lame. lol love youuuuu :)**

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Lara sat helplessly on the jail bed. She was wrongly convicted. How could she put in jail for not knowing what to do? Her daughters needed her and she needed them. The cell she was in was infested with roaches and she even saw a mouse. This place was not only disgusting; it was smellier than fresh warm poop on a rainy day: putrid beyond comprehension. The woman she shared the cell with was a loon. Why she wasn't put into the psychiatry ward was questionable, considering the lady was bloodthirsty.

She had killed her mother. Sliced her throat and kept cutting her 40, 50, maybe even 80 times. Quite the leap, yes, but no one could count, no one wanted to count. How deranged did someone have to be in order to kill their mothers? The ones who brought them into the world. The ones who was there for them every second of the day. She was being held until the trial, which Lara thought would never come.

Of course, that meant some other creep would end up in her cell and that was another thought Lara tried to ignore. One year of hell. And Lara knew very well that time would stop deliberately just so she'd give up and kill herself. Why, oh why was this happening?! If it wasn't for her daughters, Lara would have committed suicide sooner. Apparently her time was still ages away.

As the guards led the two ladies to the lunchroom, the crazy lady actually spoke sense. "You look like you've been wronged," the woman whispered. Despite her crazed eye, the lady was probably once a beautiful youth and, Lara had to admit it, she had a soothing voice. Hardly fitting for a psycho killer.

"It appears that no one else thinks that, or I wouldn't be here," Lara grumbled. "Where's the justice in this nation?"

"Who did you?" the lady asked in a friendly manner.

"Excuse me?" Lara was taken back by what she had misinterpreted.

"What were you filed for?" the lady smirked.

"Endangerment," Lara responded, total disgust written across her angelic young face.

"For who? A friend or a family member?"

"My kids."

"Oh, I get it now! I thought you looked oddly familiar. You're the Croft lady, right?" the woman laughed. Lara looked in astonishing bewilderment as the broad had told Lara her own identity. "You were on the news," the lady explained. "Filing against your husband – well, ex husband – for abuse. That fat old fart judge, I hate him with a passion!"

"He wasn't exactly fair, no," Lara sighed and nodded. Her secret was out. It made her feel like a fool to know that commoners knew her dirty little secret. It was embarrassing. Lara Croft can't keep a stable relationship.

"So that's why you're here? For being scared into submission? That's bullshit, I'm sorry," the lady scowled. "At least I earned my title."

"Why did you do it?" Lara asked curiously. She was mortified by how interested she sounded rather than disgusted, like she was supposed to be.

"My mother was smacking me around. She did awful things to me as a kid. Told me I wasn't good enough to live. She hoped that I'd die. Finally she told me that I was the ugliest thing she'd ever seen and that she would kill me if she could. But she didn't. I killed her before she did it to me. I hated that wench. She was a prostitute and I was the accidental pregnancy. I was that one-hundredth of a percent chance,"

"It seems you're wrongly convicted also," Lara frowned.

"Nah. I admit to my doings. She had it coming. They can lock me up. It's not like I have anything to lose."

"Don't you want to live your life while you're still young? You're a pretty woman, why don't you go out and see the world? Fight against the jury?" Lara whispered, not needing to but she felt that it was necessary.

"Why fight when you know you can't win?" the woman shrugged. "I don't regret what I did."

Lara pondered over the strange philosophy she'd been given and silently ate her pear. "What's your name?"

"Annette," she replied in an embarrassed tone.

"That's a beautiful name, Annette," Lara said in a dreamlike tone. She smiled to herself. "You're ashamed of that?"

"It's an old name," Annette shrugged. "It's like calling your kid Poop Stain. It's not right."

Lara laughed, "that's a bit dramatic don't you think?"

"I guess it was a little over exaggerated but the meaning still has an effect," Annette grinned. "You seem too nice to be punched around. Why'd you take it?"

"I was in love with him. He was the only man who could make my knees give in and to give me butterflies in his presence. He was perfect until he found out I was pregnant. Then the change had begun."

"Love," Annette chuckled. "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know anymore, Annette," Lara sighed and flicked the little fruit fly off her tray.

While on break, Lara chilled out with Annette and some other people. They were fenced in by a massive gate and it made the pretty outside seem like an illusion or a billboard to add some kind of movie affect. Lara was nudged on the side of her arm and she nervously looked over. "You need one of these," one of the people said and handed Lara a cigarette.

"I don't smoke," Lara handed it back and looked away, as if distracted. It was handed back to her again as the man persisted. "It'll take away the edge of your stress," the man said bluntly. Lara smirked at what he said. _How typical._

"Just do it," the man grew agitated. Lara sighed irritably and took it, just so he would shut up. She put the filthy thing to her lips, scolding herself all the while. It was just one puff and the man would leave her alone. That was worth it. He lit the cigarette and she inhaled the smoke, almost gagging and choking from the potency. "It's good once you get past the first inhale."

"It's utterly and completely disgusting! Where in the name of all that is good did you get this anyways?" Lara made a sour face and handed it back quickly.

"We can buy them," Annette chipped in. "It ain't so bad. Besides, it'll taken the 'bored' out of 'dom'. This place would kill me if I didn't have something to take my mind off of it."

Intrigued, Lara grabbed the cigarette and puffed it again. It wasn't so potent that time, but it was still vile. _So much for my drug-free virginity_, she chuckled and then mentally slapped herself. _What the hell am I thinking? Stop it Lara! Just stop!_

"Good, eh?" the man smirked. "My favourite kind. If you want, I'll give you a couple of packs. I've got plenty."

"Thanks," Lara said gratefully. Why was she thanking him? She didn't want it! Or maybe it wasn't so bad. She could shake the habit once she got out…

She automatically kept puffing the nicotine, finding it to be delightfully buzzing to her taste buds. "Where'd you get that tattoo?" she asked the man who had gotten her into that filthy habit. A picture of a woman was stereotypically on his right shoulder. She was an attractive lady.

"Did it myself," the man boasted. "I was once a tattooist. I was one of the top tattooists in London. Got busted for marijuana though, then they took it away from me. Damn authorities. She was my baby. They do that to all the people now: take away something you hold dearly."

"You have no idea," Annette frowned at me. "You look suspicious Tootz. What's on your mind?"

"Can you make a tattoo on me?" Lara asked the Italian man.

"Yeah, no doubt. I make my money for cigs by doing tattoos. The guards don't care one way or another what we do, just as long as we stay out of trouble," the Italian tattooist shrugged and nudged his head to the inside of the jail. "What kind of tattoo are you looking to have?"

"A name and a rose," Lara smiled. This wasn't like her. She would never do such things, but had jail really impacted her so quickly, and so much?

"What colours?" the man asked with interest. Obviously he was enthusiastic about his job. This was his life. He loved it.

"Blood red letters with black lining and a purple rose that's bleeding."

"So you want it 3D, eh? I like you. You've got spunk," the man said. Lara blushed at that comment. How long had it been since she'd gotten a positive remark from a man?

Lara blew out the smoke from her cigarette and gazed at the marking on her body. The procedure stung like a bitch but she was satisfied by his artistic creation. "The Lost Child – 23rd May, 1995."

"So what's the significance to that?" Annette asked curiously and motioned towards the ink.

"When Larson shot me, he hit my stomach. I didn't know it then, but there was a baby inside. How it got there? I suppose it was conceived when he raped me. It's no other solution. After he started getting even worse and he saw the divorce papers underneath my dirty clothes, he raped me in anger. He did things I can't even say without wanting to carve my tongue out."

Annette sat silent and watched Lara's face grow furious. "It was one more thing taken away from me. One more thing to leave me with nothing but pain and sorrow." Lara flung the cigarette out between the bars of the cell and outside, slipping under the sheets and swearing an oath to get revenge on Larson.


	14. Cold Day in Surrey

_**OMG ok i'm so sorry for the UUUUUUUUBER long wait guys! posted 2 chapters for now. Please give me some feedback. Yes I realize that a lot of you don't like that Lara smokes and acts like a dummy, but it's part of the plot .;;;**_

_**Thank you soooooooo much for being patient! Here's the next chapter :)

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**_The trip home was the most boring thing she'd embarked in the year she'd been in jail. No one to talk to and the police were taking away the suspense. Lara was pissed; it was supposed to be the most exciting thing ever to finally be able to see her daughters again. Instead she was worn-out and in need of a cigarette. The air was blustery and rainy. Typical day for a moment like that.

Annette was long gone. Found guilty and didn't deny it, she was thrust into prison and a possible death. What a shame; she was such a nice person and Lara had grown to connect with her in the most unusual ways thinkable.

Sometimes, Lara would find herself worrying that Annette would find Larson in the prison magically and one would die. If it was the case, Larson would've won, despite the fact that Annette was a stone-cold killer. Men were stronger; it was a fact and Lara despised it. She wanted to prove better than a man. She was determined and it'd be the first thing she would do: set out on a dangerous journey only a mental-case would go on.

The manor came into view and greeted its owner joyfully, even if Lara didn't return the wonderfulness. The police car pulled up to the door and dropped her off. Taking off her sunglasses, Lara frowned and dragged herself inside, only to be knocked over in a bear hug by not her daughters, but Anaya.

"Anaya," Lara gasped in hesitation. "I didn't think that you'd be here…" Anaya had been watching the girls for the time being that Lara was in the jail/prison/hell. She was too old to go through puberty, but Lara would be damned if she denied the fact that Anaya had changed considerably in the 365 days she was gone. Whether it was a good thing or not, Lara couldn't quite decipher.

"Well, Lara, I figured that you wouldn't mind if I borrowed your house for a bit. It's a nice roomy manor, I must say!" Anaya's funny bubbly personality discomforted Lara (for whatever reason). "What's gotten into you? Can't take humour?"

Lara sighed, "I didn't know you were trying to be funny, Anaya." Lara wasn't aware of anything; the new changes in the Foyer (the furniture was re-arranged), the funky smell of grilled-cheese, how cold and damp it was. All that Lara knew was that she needed to embrace her little girls in a massive mom-hug, and soon. "Where are they, Anaya?"

"Where is who?" Lara exasperated and gave her the 'you'd better grow up' look. Anaya quickly ended her funny affair and felt a massive sinking in her stomach. "They're in school. Now before you start to go insane—"

"IN SCHOOL? Why are they in school? Who put them there? Where are they Anaya? I'm not kidding you! I'm a royally pissed-off female ready to take a sledgehammer to someone's thick skull! Annelei? Chelsea?"

"Lara, they aren't here. They said that they wanted to go to school, so I took them and then…" Anaya backed away. Lara's fists were turning paler than a vampire's skin. She was pissed, that was obvious. But it was more than just that: Lara wanted to see her daughters go to school their first day. She was their mother! She had every right to cry over their accomplishments, to be excited about their new discoveries. But the fact remained; Anaya had stolen that huge moment of Lara's motherhood, and Lara would never heal from that.

And it impacted Lara so badly, that she broke down in tears worse than Alice did (in Wonderland). Instinctively, and on behalf of her good-natured self, Anaya drew Lara into a sympathetic hug, guilt within every deep, agonizing pierce of Lara's cries of mourning. "I'm so sorry…"

Minutes, no, an hour passed. Lara was sitting on the couch, and on that rare occasion she slouched, thoroughly depressed. If an overly-confident, British heiress sat hunched over, head hanging in utter defeat, utter helplessness, you better get Dr. Phil there to her immediately before she goes emo.

Of course, Lara would never go emo. No matter how emotionally insecure she managed to allow consume her, she would never, NEVER go emo. She had two beautiful, smart, scarily-alike-their-mum, daughters. She'd never dream of letting them go out of her sight. Besides that, Lara knew what it was like not to have parents, and she'd never let her kids go through that if she could help it, and she'd be damned if she thought anything so foolish as that.

"They're at the other Manor, the one in London. If you need a ride…" Anaya offered. She extended a hand to help Lara up off her lazy miserable butt, but Lara pushed it away and shook her head.

"No, you've caused quite enough. I'm going, and don't expect me back for another couple of days." Lara needed a vacation. When Lara was a young girl, she detested school. If she had that sole opportunity to experience skipping tutoring and replace a boorish old person with a water park, she'd pee her pants and fly out that door faster than the time it took to make the world and the objects in it. Plus, it would give Lara a great, no, exquisite opportunity to catch up on the lost times with her daughters.

Lara made her way to the London Croft Estate in record time, hoping, praying that she wouldn't get pulled over. If she saw another cop, she might as well have gagged. But there it was, approaching Lara like a car and a shined deer. Lara jolted out of the Aston Martin, but silly her; she was thrust back by her seatbelt. She wrestled that stupid, pointless contraption for an unnecessary amount of time, until finally she concentrated on the buckle and escaped. She landed four dozen knocks on the large oak doors before an annoyed fat teacher opened the door.

"Mommy?" Chelsea asked, too shocked to believe her eyesight. Was her age getting to her? She sped to the door and tackled her mother to the gravel, landing a thousand and one kisses onto Lara's cheek. Lara laughed lovingly and gave her daughter one single wet granny kiss on her cheek. "I missed you!" x10.

The other came out not too long after. She pounced on top of Chelsea and added another ton or two onto Lara's breathing supply. But nothing seemed to matter. They were reunited. What else could they even ask for?

"C'mon," Lara exclaimed, too overwhelmed to make correctly pronounced speech. The girls shook their head in confusion. "We're going on a vacation!"

Some might say that it was delightful, how happy they were. Others, well they thought that it was plain sickening! But then again, they are just haters.

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_**The next chapter is an alternate version that could have happened besides this, and it doesn't get into the Mother && Daughters thing, just a heads up. I'll try to get the next chapter rolling for those who don't wish to see a...different version of this as soon as i can (:**_


	15. The Threat Alt version to CDiS

_**Yeah...so I wrote this part first and didn't know it. It's a different possible outcome than Cold Day in Surrey, I just wanted to make Lara into a bad-ass and see what happens. The chapters after this will be the same though. Not really going to pursue this chapter since it'll drag the story on in a boring way. So let me know what your preference is :)

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**_

"All right, Lara, time to come with us," the bony woman grumbled as she unlocked the cell door. Lara stretched and nodded a smile to Annette. The friendly face Lara had come to enjoy was vanishing.

It was already one year. One year since the divorce. One year since her kids was taken away. One year since she was shot. One year that Larson was in prison. Suddenly, Lara hated the number one. She dragged herself alongside the woman and let the fresh memories flood out as her old memories filled the hole in her mind.

"Keep up," the woman demanded and stood in front of the door. That glorious, wonderful door that seemed to be sparkling with gold as if it were a door to heaven. Lara stared at it lustfully and let a faint smile come to vision. "Beyond this door," the woman warned, "will be your ticket home. If you slip up one time, you're mincemeat, got it?"

"I fail to see why I'm being censored. I'm no threat to anyone," Lara retorted. The lady scowled and looked down at the report.

"Lara Croft must be censored due to reckless behaviour."

"Reckless behaviour? How so?" Lara interrupted.

"Endangerment is classified as threatening, both receiver and giver."

"This is ridiculous! I did nothing wrong!" Lara yelled angrily and pushed the guard aside, barging out the door. "You can tell that fat ass lard of a judge to go fuck himself." The lady ran after her gun in hand and screamed for her to freeze. Lara stopped in her tracks and sidestepped, causing the leaping guard to stumble forward face first. More guards flooded out and attempted to control her. "You have me mistaken, I mean no harm. However if you try and stop me from my rights, I'll have to respond."

"Get down on your knees! Now!" several guards commanded. Lara rolled her eyes and crashed to the ground, her eyes roaming for anything. With a pang she remembered the fallen officer woman. Lara slapped the woman and grabbed the gun, pointing it to the others. "Put it down."

"I will. But I want you to stop following me. I want you to tell that judge of yours to go shove it, and mostly, to forget I was even in this predicament. Your kind has tested me long enough."

"Put it down."

"Promise you'll do as I say first." A shot was fired not out of the cops' guns, but out of Lara's; a direct hit to the other gun. "I'm not playing this game with you." More shots came out; one by one each weapon was destroyed.

Proudly, Lara strutted out of the facility. Next was to get a minor revenge. Actually it was more of an intimidation. No longer did she care that the message already went through the entire British police community.

"I need to speak with Larson Conway," Lara began.

"You're not to talk to him, let alone see him. What's your message, and I will deliver."

"It's more personal. If you would please, it's urgent." The guard looked distracted. Lara wore a revealing outfit and gave him a sultry look. "Please?"

The guard cleared his throat, "this way." Lara smirked and followed the man to the back of the prison. "Don't take long."

"I don't intend to," Lara said angrily as she spotted the American behind bars. She whacked the bar and gave him the evilest glare. "You're lucky to be here. I swear on all that is good, I will kill you slowly for what you've done. I don't care if it'll be in thirty years, you're going to die!"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Lara Croft. How cute of you to come by," Larson eyed her down. "Become quite the whore, haven't you? Or is it just a birthday present?" Despite her flaring anger, her heart cowered in fear. A frown peeked and gave the message that he was scoring. "Did anyone ever tell you how gorgeous you look when you're pissed?" He looked to her arm and laughed. "Aren't you cool? A tattoo, and by the looks of your less white teeth, a smoker as well? I myself once smoked, as you recall."

"Enough! Look, Larson, you aren't scoring anything. I'm not afraid of you nor am I the least bit of what you once knew. Of course you'd love if I cowered before you. That's all in the past and…" He came closer to her, revealing his new and improved muscles. The Hulk flashed in her mind and she stepped backwards. His hand reached out of the bars and he stroked her chin.

"You're not cowering back, eh?" he teased. Her heart stopped and she gasped in cringing fear. "Looks to me like you're the same as you used to be."

"I'm not warning you again." She walked away and shivered.


End file.
